Irish priests’ group calls for halt in permanent diaconate training

The Association of Catholic Priests of Ireland has called on the Irish bishops to halt the introduction of permanent deacons in their dioceses until the Vatican’s commission on women deacons has concluded its report and Pope Francis has made a decision based on its findings.

A posting on the National Catholic Reporter website (Sept. 5, 2017) notes that a member of the association’s leadership team, Fr. Roy Donavan, said on Aug. 9 that introducing permanent deacons without women is “extending patriarchy.”

Donovan, who is a priest of the Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, made his comments following news that Archbishop Kieran O’Reilly is setting up a group there to research the introduction of the diaconate ministry for the first time.

The Vatican announced the commission in August 2016, which Pope Francis established to look at the history of women deacons in the early church, with a view to possibly opening the diaconate to women.